The present application relates generally to surface protection films and, more particularly, to surface protection films with improved release of the film from substrates to which the film has been applied and reduced unwinding tension when the surface protection film is removed from a roll during use.
Surface protection films, also known as masking films, are typically used to provide a physical barrier to prevent damage, contamination, scratching, scuffing, or other marring of a substrate to which they are adhered. Surface protection films may be used to provide such protection during manufacture, shipping, or storing prior to use of the substrate. Substrates used as optical components for televisions, computer monitors and other displays require surface protection films that are adhered to the surface of the substrate and then subsequently removed from the surface of the substrate without damaging the substrate or leaving residue, staining or other defects on the surface of the substrate.
The application of surface protection films to the substrates to be protection usually takes place by unwinding from a roll of surface protection film, a single layer of surface protection film. As the film is pulled off the roll, the spiral orientation of the surface protection film on the roll may have the adhesion layer disengaging from the release layer as the film is removed from the roll of film. The disengagement may result in a higher unwind tension or peel force while the film is unwound. The higher unwind tension or peel force may provide problems for an end user of the film including breakage and/or deformation in the film during unwinding, lower efficiency when converting the film, more difficult laminating the film to a substrate of an end user (e.g., including damage to substrate of the end user during lamination of the film to the substrate), and/or the like. As such, there still exists a need to provide a surface protection film having improved unwind tension or peel force for an end user such that there may be improvement in film breakage, efficiency during converting, ease of laminating a film to a substrate without causing damage, and/or the like.